Broken Wings
by CarissaJoy
Summary: Everyone has that moment in their life. A moment when you question if it's worth it. Living. That question has haunted Desiree Welkins since the beginning of the end. It wasn't until she met a certain hunter that made her want to keep going. To keep surviving. To keep living. Daryl/OC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! This is my first even fanfic, so I'm very excited to be publishing it! I hope that everyone likes it! Thanks so much for reading! xx**

Chapter 1

Desiree awoke to the rising sun. She looked around her, making sure nothing had changed from the night before. Streaks of pink and orange darted across the brightening untied herself from the tree branch that was currently her bed and packed up her supplies, including her crossbow that was positioned across her lap all night. She never went anywhere with her crossbow. It had saved her more times that she could count.

She sighed and looked across the tree line, her feet dangling off the side of the branch. The leaves on the tree were turning red and brown, reminding her that winter was just around the corner. It could be beautiful, she thought to herself as she looked around at her surroundings, if the air didn't constantly smell like death and decay and she didn't have to worry about zombies trying to eat her every second of the day.

The landscape brought back memories of her childhood. Swinging from the swing her dad had built from the large oak tree in her back yard while her brothers would rake piles of dead leaves together to jump in. Her parents chatting on the back porch while drinking her mom's famous lemonade. It was difficult, thinking about those memories. It reminded her that that house was abandoned and probably falling apart. But worse, that her family was most likely dead.

She thought about them for a moment, smiling at all the happy moments they all had together. She dreamed about them a lot. Sometimes the dreams were pleasant, but a lot of the times they were about the ways they could have possibly died during the chaos; a fire, starvation, or even biters eating them. Sometimes she felt guilty for not looking for them, but she knew that guilt and worry would just have her killed. So she just shook off those emotions, and focused on something else, instead.

Carefully and silently, she climbed down the tree to the soft earth below. A light fog filled the ground around her. She didn't like the fact that she couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of her, but she continued anyway, her crossbow loaded and ready. She had become an expert at stealth in the past two months. But she had to be if she wanted to live. She wondered that often, if this life was worth living.

At night, she would lay there in her makeshift bed, and twirl her pistol in her hands, marveling on how easy it would be to end it all. No more guilt or suffering or misery, just peace. But something stopped her each time. She didn't know if it was her stubbornness or just basic instinct, but she could never do it.

The fog began to lighten as the day went on. It was hot that day, and sweat began to bead up on her forehead. She wiped it off and continued on her way. She didn't know exactly where she was or where she was going, she just wanted to get as far south as she could before winter came. She guessed she was in Alabama, she thought she saw a car with an Alabama license plate a few days before, but she wasn't completely sure.

After a few more hours of walking, she came across a small gas station. She knew it was probably empty, but it never hurt to try. There was nothing; no cars, people, and more importantly, no biters. Quietly, she snuck around the building and went through the back door. Just as she thought, the racks were empty, but she did find a bag of chips and a bottle of Gatorade. She stuffed them into her backpack and continued looking around the place. She found a couple candy bars behind the counter and as she put those in her bag, she heard a bell ding. She guessed it was the front door, so she froze and crouched lower behind the counter.

"I know you're over there, sweetie," A man's voice said, sending chills down her spine. She knew not to trust anyone in this world, dead or alive. She grabbed her crossbow and jumped up. He seemed to be startled for a second, but remained his composure. "Don't move," She ordered, making sure she sounded tough and assertive, but he just laughed and took a step towards her. He looked like he could be a villain from a TV show. He was big, sweaty, bald, and was missing a couple teeth. "Whatcha gonna do, sweet cheeks, shoot me?" He said grinning a nasty, toothless grin.

"Uh… yah, that's kind of the point of the crossbow," She replied nonchalantly, hoping to get on his nerves. "Nice, hot _and_ feisty…" He said taking another step toward her, "Just the way I like 'em." And with that he lunged at her, but before he got any closer, she shot her crossbow and the arrow hit him in the head. She took a deep breath before walking over to his now lifeless body and pulled out the arrow. "Told you I'd shoot," she whispered before hurrying out of the store, just in case he wasn't alone.

As she settled in for the night, she thought about how she would have acted a few months back if the same thing would have happened. She knew for sure she wouldn't have been able to kill the guy, but a lot has changed in the past couple months. She had changed. As she sat there, eating one of the candy bars and the bag of chips, she thought about that day. The day that changed her life forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She still remembered that day so clearly. The day the world went to shit. She was going to her first class of the day at her university, Psychology. The professor was telling them about a new virus that was rapidly becoming an epidemic. He said that it was becoming known to affect people's brains and brain stem. She shrugged it off, thinking it was just the media trying to find the next big story. Instead, she day dreamed about her date with Bryan Kerry, the quarterback of the football team, next Saturday.

After the rest of her classes that day, she drove back to her tiny apartment. She was singing along to Celine Dion when the radio began playing an emergency broadcast over and over about the same virus that the professor mentioned. That was when she first started to worry. When she got home, she went straight into her cramped living room and turned on the news. It was a video being played over and over of a man chasing and biting another man in the arm, apparently caused by the same virus, called TQP-57. But he didn't just look like a regular man, his eyes were a milky bluish-green color, and he kept making growling and moaning sounds. People were referring to him as a 'zombie'. She felt sick as they replayed the video again.

She tried calling her parents but they're phone must have been off, so she left a message instead. "I don't know if you're watching the news but something is weird is going on. I just wanted to call and make sure you guys were safe. Hopefully you get this. I love you guys!" As she hung up the power began to flicker and turned off, leaving her in complete darkness.

That's when she knew she had to get out of there. If something bad was happening, she wanted to get out of the city. She had seen enough movies to know that. She grabbed a flashlight from the kitchen and went into her bedroom. As quickly as she could, she packed some of her clothes, her phone and charger, some flashlights, toiletries, and anything else she thought she could possibly need for a couple days away. She went down to her white Honda Civic and started up the engine, only then did she notice how much her hands were shaking. The radio continued to broadcast the same emergency announcement, sometimes airing a news story with a new case of people 'biting' and 'eating' one another.

She told herself over and over again that it wasn't what she thought it was and that it was all some sort of big misunderstanding. She drove for a couple hours and finally pulled over along the side of a small, back road. Maybe she was overreacting. She started to think she was a complete fool for freaking out like that. Did she actually believe that zombies were taking over the world? She decided to go back to her apartment. She looked out the window; the sky was darkening and the stars were beginning to come out. She turned around and began the drive back, but it was what she saw next that really changed her life.

She drove through a small town along the highway. She was passing by a hygienic store when she heard a woman was screaming. She looked out the window and saw a woman running away from a man stumbling towards her, his teeth bared and snapping at her. She tripped and fell into the dirt, and the man caught up. He grabbed her and bit down on her shoulder. He then began to rip her shoulder off. It was like nothing she had ever seen before, not even in movies. She slammed on the gas pedal, as she began to get light headed. She contemplating going back and trying to help her. But whatever this virus was, it was making people completely irrational, and she knew if she tried going back, she probably wouldn't make it out alive.


	3. Chapter 3

The next few days went by uneventful, besides coming across a ''Welcome to Georgia' sign. She had heard from a couple she had met in her travels that the CDC in Atlanta was still open, but she had heard a lot of things in the weeks following the epidemic. As more and more time went by, the less people she encountered. The man she shot in the gas station was the first living person she had seen in a month.

And as much as she wanted to stay away from towns and buildings, she knew she was almost out of food, and needed to find some more soon. So against her better judgment, she headed into a small town on the outskirts of Atlanta.

She took down a few biters in a diner, but found no food or supplies. She continued on to the police station, hoping to find guns or ammo. She found a pistol taped under one of the desks and a couple boxes of ammo. And even though it didn't seem like much, she saw it as a goldmine. She walked out of the brick building but she heard two voices coming towards her.

She ran into the alleyway between an old movie theater and an old ice cream parlor, and hid behind some overgrown bushes. The voices got louder and louder, it sounded like they were talking about a little girl or something, but she wasn't paying close attention to their conversation, she was focused on getting out of there alive.

"Hey! Rick! I think's something in this bush over here!" A man yelled. Crap. "Probably some animal, Daryl… I'm going in the police station; they may have a gun or two." A guy answered back. She could hear one walking away, which she guessed was 'Rick'. But the other man, 'Daryl', stayed, and she could hear him pulling out some sort of weapon.

No way am I going out like this, She thought to herself. She jumped out of the bush and tackled the man. He tried to grab his weapon, which turned out to be a crossbow, but she kicked it away from his reach. "What the hell!?" He shouted. She put her elbow on his neck and held down one of his hands with her own.

"I don't want any trouble," she said to him. "I don't want no trouble either," He answered, his voice cracking under the pressure of her elbow. But before she could do anything, the man she thought she had pinned down, twisted her arm and flipped over, now pinning her to the ground. "Let go of me!" She shouted. "Why'd ya' do that!" He shouted back at her. "I didn't know who you were. And I heard you loading your crossbow. I thought you were going to shoot me!"

"Well… I thought you were a possum or somethin'. Is anyone else with you?" He asked loudly. She shook her head quickly, praying he would let her go. "You're all alone?" He asked, sounding surprised. She nodded. "Please," She whispered, hoping to get his sympathy. He opened his mouth to say something, when she heard feet shuffling behind them. "Shit," He said jumping to his feet.

She turned around and saw 7 biters limping their way towards them. She crawled over to the bush and grabbed her own crossbow. Daryl shot one right between the eyes and it fell instantly. She grabbed one of her arrows and shot another, watching it fall to the ground. He kept shooting as she pulled out her knife that was strapped to her thigh and ran towards the remaining biters, stabbing them in the skull. Soon they were all dead and he was out of arrows. He was about to collect them when another biter stumbled up behind him.

"Hey!" She shouted towards him. Daryl turned and just as the zombie was about to bite, she shot one of her arrows at it, hitting in directly in its right eye. It nearly fell on top of him. "Damn…" He said looking at her with that surprised look on his face, "Good aim." "Daryl! I heard shouting, you okay?" A man wearing a sheriff uniform shouted, running around the corner, a rifle slung across his back.

She quickly grabbed her backpack and began walking away, knowing there was nothing left to say or do. "Wait…" Daryl said. She stopped and turned around. "You just saved my life." "It was nothing," She said as she adjusted her grip on the backpack. "It wasn't just nothing." Rick looked at Daryl before pitching in, "We have a camp a couple miles east of here. Why don't you come back with us, and we can have someone look at your leg." He added, stepping towards her.

She looked down and saw her leg had a fresh, deep cut that was about 4 inches long. She hadn't even noticed it until right now. "I don't want to impose," She said quietly. "You won't be," Daryl replied quickly. She shrugged and nodded, not knowing if she was walking into a trap or not, but they seemed like decent people. But you never knew these days.

They got to their green Hyundai and Rick put her bag in the trunk, and he went to grab her crossbow, but she pulled away instinctively. "I'd rather keep it for right now. I still don't know you people… You can understand that, right?" He nodded, "I understand."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I really like this chapter but I do apologize in advance for the conversation about crossbows because I absolutely know nothing about different crossbows and just wrote down a couple names that I had found online. So if anyone reading this ****_does_**** know the different types of crossbows, I apologize. Enjoy! :)**

Chapter 4:

"So what's your name?" Rick asked as they began to drive. "Desiree. Desiree Welkins." "Well it's nice to meet you, Desiree." "How many are in your group?" She asked after a couple minutes of silence. "9." She nodded, leaning back against the seat.

It was very uncommon to have such a big group, but she didn't question him any further. She could tell neither one of them were into small talk so, instead, she leaned back against the head rest, enjoying being in a car for the first time in over a month.

About 10 minutes later, they arrived at their camp, which was in front of a white farmhouse and a barn. "Hershel owns the house. He's been kind enough to let us camp here until my boy heals. His farmhand accidentally shot him when he was out hunting."

"Is he alright?" She asked, concerned. He nodded, "He'll be all healed up in a week or two." He parked in front of a cluster of tents. A couple people walked up to the car, obviously wondering who Desiree was and what she was doing here. Rick got out and opened up her door.

"Thanks," She said getting out. "Who's this, Rick?" A tall, slender woman with long black hair asked walking up to them. "Everyone, this is Desiree. Saved Daryl's ass, but she got cut up pretty bad, so we thought we'd have Hershel take a look at her."

"I'm Lori," The woman said walking up to Desiree, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you," Desiree answered, hesitantly. On all her months on the road, she never met such kind people. Not many were left in this world. Rick introduced her to the rest of his group, and she noticed that Daryl had left.

"Rick, I see you brought back a guest," An older man with snow white hair said walking up to them. "She's got a pretty bad cut on her leg, we were wondering if you could take a look at it," Rick said as he pointed to Desiree's leg. "Sure," He answered, smiling warmly at her.

He led her into the farm house. The house reminded her of all the summers she spent working on her uncle's farm, it even smelled similar. He took her into a smaller bedroom and had her lay on the bed with her leg propped up with a couple pillows and blankets. He put on a pair of glasses and looked at the cut.

"Well, the good news is it isn't too deep. But you're probably going to need a few stitches." She nodded and Hershel went to get his first aid kit. "Were you a doctor?" She asked as he began cleaning her leg. "No," He said with a chuckle, "I was a veterinarian. A lot of my training just seems to cross over." She nodded and smiled at his kindness. After he cleaned the wound, he took out some thread. "This may hurt a little," He said, preparing me. She nodded and bit her lip.

She looked away as he stitched up her leg, trying to ignore the pain. "All done," He said a couple minutes later. He wrapped the cut in bandage and helped her to her feet. "Thank you, Hershel," She said quietly. "No problem." She limped her way outside and back towards Rick.

"You okay?" He asked when she reached him, Lori, and a woman named Carol. "Yep. I needed a few stitched but nothing major," She said. "Well, why don't you rest, we have an extra tent at the edge of camp." She shook my head, "I've already imposed way too much. I can just grab my stuff and be on my way."

"Please," Lori said running up behind me. "You just saved one of our friends, plus, looks like you haven't had a full meal in a while. Just stay for the night, then you can leave tomorrow." She couldn't believe they were being this nice, and actually offering her food. "Alright," She said with a small sigh. "Good," Lori said smiling at her. She and Carol helped her to the tent and gave her a couple pain killers for her leg. "We usually have supper around 7 if you want to join us," Carol said before leaving the tent.

Throughout the next couple hours, the rest of Rick's group came to introduced themselves. Out of all of them, Andrea and Glenn were her favorites. Andrea was a lot like her, she didn't take crap from anyone, and Glenn was just an all-around nice guy and really easy to talk to.

But every time she let her guard down or got too comfortable, she had to remind herself that this was temporary and she couldn't stay. She was a loner, and she didn't trust people so easily, which was why she was afraid of these people.

Around 7, she got up and limped her way over to the fireplace, where everyone was huddled around, talking quietly. "There she is," Carol said happily, waving at her. "Hi," Desiree said quietly, sitting on a log between Andrea and Daryl. Andrea passed a bottle of water with a smile, and she took it graciously. She drank a third of it in one swallow, even though she was trying to ration it.

"So Desiree, where were you when the world ended," A man named Shane asked from across the fire. "I was a senior at a college in Omaha," She answered, "Started hearing about the virus and decided to bug out for a couple days. Best decision I ever made."

Everyone nodded and Rick began passing out pieces of meat, which she guesses was squirrel. "What weapon do you use?" Carl, Rick's son, piped up from his place next to Lori. "I have a crossbow. Barnett Ghost 350 CRT, to be exact, best crossbow out there." She heard Daryl scoff from besides her. "Is something funny?" She asked turning towards him. "Nothing," He answered, trying to cover his smile, "I just don't think it's the best…" He explained. "Oh really? So which one is the 'best' in your opinion, then?" "The Carbon Express." She rolled her eyes at his answer, "That thing is nowhere near the best. A little girl could operate that thing!" She retorted. "Whatever," He said trying to look upset, but she could see a smile playing on his lips.

She moved her focus back to the fire. "You guys are a lot alike," Carl said with a small smile, "Except Desiree is funnier, and prettier, and cleaner…" This made the whole group burst into laughter, including Daryl. "She may be cleaner, little man," Daryl said loudly over the laughter, "But I am definitely prettier!" This made everyone laugh even harder, and for the first time in a long time Desiree didn't feel like she was just surviving, she felt like she was living again.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The next morning, she could feel the tension in camp. They were all sitting around the fire when Glenn to the center of the group. "Guys… There are walkers in the barn." It took Desiree a second to remember that they called Biters Walkers, but as she processed what was going on Shane exploded and stormed down to the barn, everyone else following close behind.

Rick and Shane started arguing, and then Daryl got into it, mentioning finding some doll. Before she knew it, they were coming at each other. Rick and T-Dogg pushed Shane away as Desiree and Glenn pushed Daryl back. He fought against them for a second but then he looked at her and stopped, storming back to camp, cussing under his breath.

She tried to stay out of everyone's way the rest of the day. It seemed like everyone was arguing with each other, and she questioned whether she should just leave. But something made her want to stay. She wasn't sure what exactly it was, but she was determined to find out.

Later that day, she found Daryl sitting against a tree on the outskirts of camp. "Hey," She said walking up to him. He just nodded in response. She took that as an invitation to sit. She sat down beside him and watched him clean his crossbow. "What is going on around here? Everyone seems so on edge…" She asked quietly, making sure no one else could hear her. He shrugged, "Let's just say, Shane is an expert on putting people on edge." She nodded and continued, "You were talking about a doll today…"

She stopped and looked over at him. She hadn't really noticed how pretty his eyes were, they were the exact color of the sky, or the ocean on a sunny day. She hadn't really had the time to notice that he was actually quite attractive. Not in like a Hollywood type of way, but in a real manly man kind of way. She stopped herself and reminded herself how ridiculous it was to think that way when there were plenty of other things way more important than a silly crush.

"Carol lost her little girl a few days ago. Been searchin' ever since. Just found her doll in the woods a few days back, but Shane's convinced she's dead." She nodded, listening to him carefully, "And what do you think?" "I think she's alive, somewhere. We just have to find 'er."

She smiled to herself, she thought it was funny how he put up such a rough, hard-ass exterior when in reality he was just a big softie, looking for missing girls and such. But she realized in that moment she was the exact same way. She put up such a hard exterior so that other people wouldn't mess with her, even though she knew she was just as scared as everyone else. Maybe Carl was right, that they were very alike after all.

They sat there talking for a while longer, about nothing in particular. They argued about the walkers in the barn, talked about their previous lives, and by the end, they began arguing about crossbows again. They would have continued, but they noticed everyone gathered in front of the farmhouse and went to check it out.

"You two with me?" Shane asked/yelled at them as they reached everyone. "Yah!" Daryl said grabbing a shotgun out of his hand. He handed Desiree one, as well. She didn't quite know what to do so she just took it and stood by Daryl.

Shane started ranting about the barn again. That's when everyone saw a sight they thought they would never see. Rick and Hershel were pulling two biters onto the farm by some kind of pole. Everyone went over and stared in awe.

Desiree couldn't believe Rick would do that with his son and wife so close by. That was the last straw for Shane. He shot the biter Hershel was holding and then went over to the barn door. "Shane!" She tried calling, but there was no reasonable bone left in his body. He smashed the padlock and banged on the door.

One by one, biters emerged from the barn, all snapping and groaning at everyone. Daryl began shooting alongside Shane. And Glenn made sure it was okay with Hershel's daughter before he joined them. She saw one straying towards Carl and Lori. She shot it with her gun, hitting it directly in the forehead.

"I'm sorry, Hershel!" she yelled before shooting another. Between the four of them and T-Dogg, all of the biters were dead in front of the barn in the matter of minutes. Everyone lowered their guns when they heard another moan. Except this one was much higher pitched and quieter than the others.

Then, a little girl stumbled out of the barn. She was wearing a rainbow T-shirt and frilly socks, yet her shoulder was completely ripped apart and her eyes were that awful greyish-blue color. Carol began screaming and crying, and Daryl had to stop her from running to the biter child by pulling her to the ground.

Even her, whose conscience seemed to disappear overnight since the epidemic hit, couldn't help but feel awful. It was just a child after all. That's when she realized that this must have been the girl they had been looking for, Carol's daughter.

She put her gun down; she was not going to be the one who would kill her. She stepped back as Rick walked passed her. She saw him put his pistol up to the girl and pulled the trigger. Everyone was either crying and/or looking away from the scene that had just unfolded. She didn't know what to do. "My baby!" Carol screamed, as everyone began to leave. Desiree threw her gun at Shane's feet and went back up to her tent.

That's when she realized why she was the way she was. Why she pushed anybody away who got close to her. Why she didn't feel as guilty for her family as she probably should. She knew that having people who cared about her around her in this world would be her downfall, her weakness. But she didn't know which was worse now. Surviving alone by herself, with no one to care or protect, or to live with people who cared about her, even though it would probably cause even more pain and despair.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: If everyone who reads this could review, that would be awesome! :) xx**

Chapter 6

After Desiree ate her breakfast she was met by Lori who was hanging clothes on the clothes line strung between two of the trees that stood in the middle of camp. "Here," She said passing her a small pile of clothes. "You could use some new clothes. Change into these, and I'll get your dirty ones washed." "Thanks," She said walking into her tent.

She marveled at the touch of the clean fabric. These days, she wasn't concerned about how she looked, but she had to admit new clothes made her a little giddy. She slid on the skinny cargo pants, along with a black T-shirt and a black leather jacket. She laced up her usual black boots, and stepped out of the tent once again.

"Well, don't you look hot," Carol said, smiling at Desiree. Carol reminded her a lot of her own mother. They had the same sense of humor. "Thanks," She answered awkwardly, not really sure what to say. She turned and grabbed her crossbow that was perched on the side of her tent and strung it across her back. "I'll be back…" She said as she handed Lori her dirty clothes.

"Where you going?" She asked. "I thought I'd go hunting… I think I need some time alone to clear my head. I'll be back in a couple of days…" Lori nodded and smiled, "Be safe." She was glad Lori wasn't one to question too much, unlike Dale or Shane.

She could feel her stress melt away as she entered the forest. It was like being home again, even though it was nice to sleep on a sleeping bag instead of a tree branch. She immediately began tracking squirrels and deer. While she was out there she thought about the choices that she was going to have to make when she got back. She had to choose whether to stay with the group or leave. She couldn't spend any more time just hanging around.

She wasn't sure how many days she was out there, maybe three or four? But she couldn't be sure. When she was finally finished hunting, she carried back almost twenty squirrels, two Canadian geese, and a fox. It was a heavy load, but she found herself excited to return back to camp. She could see herself doing this regularly.

As she emerged from the woods, she looked around the farm. It seemed quieter than usual, and she didn't see anyone moving around camp. When she got closer she realized everyone was in front of Hershel's house, along with all their cars and trucks. She noticed Daryl fixing the roof of the nearby shed and Lori and T-Dogg chatting near the truck.

"There's the wild child," T-Dogg said as she approached them. "Hi," She answered back, dropping the bags of game. "Looks like we got ourselves some dinner," Lori said happily. "Yep," She answered back proudly, "What's going on?"

They both looked at her gravely. "What happened?" She asked, knowing that look all too well. "Something happened last night…" Lori started." "Dale died." T-Dogg finished. She didn't know how to react. Yah, she knew who he was, but she wasn't very close to him and only talked to him a couple times. "I'm sorry," She said quietly to the pair, knowing they were probably having a tougher time than her with the news.

"I'm going to go see if Daryl needs some help," She said with a small smile. With that she turned around and headed toward the shed. As she got to the door she felt a hand land on her shoulder. Instinctively, she jumped out of the way and reached for her knife. "Whoa, crazy! It's just me," Daryl said taking a step back and lifting his hands up in the air.

"You scared me," She sighed, putting a hand over her heart. "I was just warnin' ya' that ya' should probably stay away from the shed," He said scratching the back of his head. His hair and shirt were drenched with sweat and he looked completely exhausted. "Why?" She questioned. "Have us a prisoner in there," He said loudly. "What do you mean a prisoner?" She asked stepping towards the door. "He almost killed Hershel, Glenn, and Rick when they went into town. Says he's got a group of 30 men with him. Now we're just figuring out what to do with him."

She nodded, "Geez... you leave for a couple days... I think I'm bad luck. Everything bad seemed to start happening since I got here," She said with an awkward laugh. "Nah… Bad stuff is always goin' on. I think the group's just bad luck. Better get used to it," She smiled at his words, knowing that he thinks that she is or thinking about staying with the group.

"You should go in and get some rest. I know how tired you can get after huntin'." She nodded and turned back to the house. It felt like she had butterflies in her stomach but she didn't know if it was Daryl's presence or just hunger. Or maybe both.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

She awoke to someone yelling downstairs. She sat up from her spot in the corner of one of the small bedrooms that she shared with Carol and Andrea. She slipped out of her sleeping bag and ran downstairs, curious to see what was going on. She wasn't too surprised when she saw Shane pacing around, screaming. But what took her off guard was the steady stream of blood running from his nose and hands.

"That son of a bitch!" He screamed at the forming crowd. "He has my gun!" He screamed, pointing at the dense woods. "Okay, everyone except Shane, me, Glenn, and Daryl, go into the house!" 'I'm coming too," Desiree said stepping forward. From the look Daryl gave her, she could tell he wasn't too ecstatic about her decision to join them, and made a mental note to ask him why later.

She ran and grabbed her crossbow and a pistol. She secured the pistol in the back of her pants and loaded her crossbow. "Aright, Shane and I will go North, Glenn, Daryl and Desiree, go west." Everyone nodded and walked into the dark forest. "I have a bad feeling about this…" Glenn whispered. Desiree could see his hands shaking as he gripped his hatchet. Daryl, on the other hand looked as calm as ever as he looked for tracks.

The further in they got, the more confused Daryl looked. "What is it?" She asked quietly. "They were walking together… Doesn't match up with Shane's story… Something's fishy he-" He was cut off by the sound of a twig snapping. They all ran behind some trees as the shuffling and moaning got louder. She turned to Daryl and he nodded back at her.

Glenn tip toed around the tree, but the biter caught him off guard, pushing him onto the ground. It then lunged at Daryl, who missed his shot. The biter fell on top of him, his teeth snapping and growling at Daryl. Unsure of what to do, she grabbed the collar on the zombie's shirt and threw it backwards. She went to grab her gun when Glenn's hatchet slammed into the back of its head.

They all stood there for second, just trying to catch their breath. Desiree noticed that she could see her breath in the air, a cruel reminder of how close winter was. "You okay?" She asked Daryl as she helped him up. "That was too close…" He answered curtly. "I'll say," Glenn said, still breathing deeply, "You guys, it's Randall." Glenn said, shocked.

"Do you see any bites?" She asked, kneeling next to the lifeless biter. "No…" Daryl said, investigating around the body, "And look, his neck is broken. That's how he died." "But how'd he turn into a zombie. And who broke his neck?! " Glenn asked, shocked by the discovery. "Don' know…" Daryl answered as he retrieved his arrow, "We better go find Rick, something don't feel right…"

Everyone nodded and headed back towards the farmhouse. No one said a word, mostly because they didn't want to attract anymore zombies, but also, they were trying to figure out how Randall turned, something was not adding up.

As they emerged onto the farm, they heard a gunshot in the distant. "What was that?" Glenn asked with a gasp. "I'm going to make sure everyone inside is okay," Desiree said. She began walking to the house, her heart racing faster than usual. Carol met her at the door. "Are you okay?" She asked pulling Desiree into a hug. "Yah… we found Randall. He turned… but we're still not sure where Rick and Shane are." "Why don't you come inside, I'm sure they'll be back any minute…" She shook her head quickly, "I'm gonna stay out here for now. Make sure everyone is ready to move if necessary, who knows what that gunshot attracted."

Carol nodded and rushed back into the house. As she walked around the house, she saw Daryl looking at something in the distance. She ran up to him to see what he was looking at. She opened her mouth to ask, but the sight before her made her silent. It looked like a wave emerging through the tree line. As it grew closer she saw what it really was. There were at least a hundred biters stumbling towards the farm.

"Why are there so many?" She gasped, tightening her grip around her crossbow. "Not sure, but we need to go," He said turning but Desiree didn't move, she just stood there staring at the dark mass, "Now!" He yelled, grabbing her harm and pulling her towards the house. Finally snapped out of her trance, she began running alongside Daryl towards the house. "Lori, Carol! Get everyone into the cars!" She shouted into the house.

"Where's Carl?" Lori screamed, running out of the house frantically, "He was just in the bedroom, but he's gone now." "He must have gone after Rick and Shane," Carol ssid, "I'm sure he's with Rick. He'll be safe with him." "I can't leave him, what if he's not with Rick!?" "Lori, if we don't leave now, we'll all be goners," Desiree said loudly.

Maggie, Beth, and Glenn began hauling out as much as they could before gathering around the porch. The biters were close enough to see each of their nasty, decomposing faces. "This is my farm, I'll die here," Hershel answered, loading his shotgun. "Alright, as good a night as any…" Daryl said calmly, jumping over the railing.

"Everyone, grab as much as you can and head towards the cars!" Desiree shouted as she grabbed a shotgun for herself. She ran down the porch steps and began shooting as many biters as possible. "Look!" Glenn said pointing to the barn, which was now on fire. She saw the silhouettes of Rick and Carl, and she let out a little sigh of relief, knowing that they were safe.

She stabbed an incoming biter and threw it off to the side. Its thick blood spattered across her face and arm. She saw the RV rolling up to the barn and Rick and Carl jumping on top of it. She shot a few more, and turned to see Carol, Lori, Beth, and Patricia running towards the truck.

Out of nowhere, a biter grabbed Patricia's hair and pulled her neck into its mouth. "No!" Beth screamed, refusing to let go of Patricia's hand. Carol and Lori managed to pull her away and Patricia screamed out in pain, 3 biters now ripping into her flesh with their teeth. "You guys need to leave now!" Desiree yelled to them. They nodded and hurried to the car, along with T-Dog. She saw Glenn and Maggie get into the green Hyundai, and Rick and Carl were now gone. She spotted Andrea of in the distance and Hershel near the front porch, both still shooting.

She ran around the house looking for Carl and Rick, but by the time she made it back to the front, Hershel was gone and Andrea was nowhere to be found. "Crap," Desiree muttered, running away from the horde. She made it to the other side of Hershel's property, but a quarter of the biters were still following her. She was out of breath and exhausted. She stabbed one biter that was gaining on her with an arrow and ran further.

And it was when she knew she couldn't run much longer that she saw a large light moving down the road. As it got closer she realized it was Daryl's motorcycle. "Come on! We don't got all day!" He yelled. Gasping for air, she jumped onto the seat behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso, clinging to him for dear life. He spun and took off down the road again.

She began feeling lightheaded and her vision kept blurring, but she managed to stay awake as he drove. "Did everyone make it out?" He asked over the roar of the engine. "I saw everyone but Andrea, Rick, Carl, and Hershel make it out." He nodded and slowed down a bit. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon when she looked around. She heard a honk, and saw the truck and Hyundai driving past them. She could see everyone smiling towards them; glad more people had made it. Daryl pointed in the direction they were headed and pulled to the front of the line of cars.

They continued driving again. She wasn't sure where they were headed, but Daryl seemed to know where he was going. She closed her eyes and put her head against Daryl's back, praying that all of this was a dream and she would wake back up in her sleeping bag in the farmhouse. Instead, she fell asleep.

After an hour or two, the motorcycle slowed down, causing her to wake up. She saw that they were on a large interstate as Daryl weaved through all of the abandoned vehicles. As they came around the corner, she saw 3 figures crouched behind an overturned truck.

They all turned towards the incoming cars, smiling and waving. It was Hershel, Carl, and Rick. "My son!" Lori screamed, jumping out of the truck. She ran to them and hugged them tightly, all three of them sobbing. Hershel hugged his two daughters, kissing them each on the forehead. "We shouldn't stay on this main road…" Daryl said loudly, getting everyone's attention, "Another horde may be comin'."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Desiree sat there, watching the flames from the fire dance in the black sky. She was so mad at Rick. Not only did he just run off with Shane, leaving her, Daryl, and the rest of them to fend for themselves, but now he has the right to say that he's in charge and none of them are allowed to have an opinion anymore?

When he said that anyone was allowed to leave, she almost got up and left. But something made her stay. Being in a group was growing in her, and she wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. As she thought about the past couple says, Daryl walked up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey," She said with a sigh, not taking her eye off of the fire. "Why don't we get outta here for a bit?" He said quietly. "I'd do anything to get out of this camp for a while…" She mumbled standing up. She grabbed her crossbow and followed him down the road.

"You're mad, aren't ya'?" He asked, breaking the silence. "Aren't you?" She retorted, her anger bubbling to the surface. "Nah… he's just doing the best for the group," he said, remaining strangely calm, "Imagine the decisions he'll have to make in the upcoming months… be glad you don't have to suffer the consequences if you make the wrong one."

"You have quite the unusual way of looking at things, Daryl Dixon," She laughed, looking up at him. He smiled and looked at the ground, seemingly embarrassed. She smirked at his sudden shyness. They continued to walk, not talking. She liked that about being with him, how it never felt awkward to be around him, even when there was nothing to say, it just felt normal. Natural.

"You have any siblings?" He asked a couple minutes later. "Yah… 2 brothers… You?" "1 brother…" He answered quietly. "What happened to him? If you don't mind me asking…" "Funny story…" He said kicking a rock down the street with his torn up boots, "When we were back in Atlanta, a couple of them handcuffed him to a roof." "You're kidding…" Desiree asked, shocked. "I wish I was. I went back for him the next day but he was gone. Cut off his own hand with a saw. Haven't seen him since… What about your brothers? They still alive?" Desiree shrugged, "Not sure. Never could contact them after the outbreak."

"Sorry about that…" He replied, sympathetically. "Yah… sometimes I wish I could know for a fact they're dead… Is that completely awful for me to say?" "No… I see where you're coming from. It's easier to think of them being dead than them being alive and suffering or worse…" She nodded, not letting her emotions get the better of her.

"You think we're going to survive the next couple months?" "Do you?" She thought about it for a moment… "I don't know." She answered honestly. "Me neither. But who knows… maybe we'll find someplace safe…" "Yah, alright. Don't you remember, though, this group is bad luck. We're more likely to all get hit by a bus than actually find somewhere safe."

He laughed, more than she'd ever heard before. Even more than that first night around the fire. She began laughing with him, knowing that it wasn't really that funny, but it was better to be laughing than worrying about what the future might hold.

**AN: Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading! And remember! REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! Also, I have a question for you all. Should I skip all of winter and go straight to the beginning of Season 3? Or should I write about what happens during the winter? I can't decide and would love to get some input from you guys! Much love! xx**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

One Month Later:

Desiree was growing anxious. Not only had the weather dipped 30 degrees in the past month, but she was tired of running from place to place. They never stayed in one location more than a week and the group was a complete mess. Rick was not the man that she had first met. He was cold and withdrawn from the rest group. He and Lori had hardly spoken to each other since the night Shane and Andrea died and the biters destroyed the farm.

She mainly kept to herself or stayed by Daryl, now and then engaging in a conversation with Glenn or Carol or Maggie. She could see that everyone was losing weight, and felt helpless in the situation. There weren't as many animals around to hunt for and all they could rely on was scavaging houses and buildings for food.

They hardly made it to December, and they were already weak and miserable. Most nights, everyone just huddled around the fire. No one talked, they just sat there. They were all tired, hungry, and cold. The one upside to the winter was the biters were slower than how they used to be. Hershel thought that the cold weather was literally freezing them, making them much clumsier and slower.

It was mid-December when they packed up their stuff in an old office building they were currently hiding in. Carl was helping Lori to the car while everyone else hauled the few cans that were found in the office kitchen.

She took down a walker that was creeping behind the truck and stabbed it with her knife in the forehead. "All clear," She said wiping her now bloody hands onto her jeans. Everyone hopped into the cars. Glenn, Maggie, Hershel, and Beth were in the Hyundai. Lori, Carl, Rick, Carol, and T-Dogg were in Hershel's truck, and Daryl and Desiree were in the truck with his motorcycle in the back.

They didn't say much to each other, besides the occasional comment or two. They drove for almost 5 hours before driving into a small town. Rick's truck, which was in front of theirs, motioned with his hand to pull up next to him. Desiree rolled down her window.

"There should be a couple grocery stores around; we're going to go check them out. And Glenn and Maggie are going to go look for guns; you should probably go with them." Desiree nodded and rolled up the window. "Still bothers me, you know…" She mumbled as they drove along the abandoned streets. "What?" Daryl asked, looking over at her. "Having someone constantly telling you what to do and what not to do… Just pisses me off."

He smirked and dropped the conversation, knowing that it wasn't headed anywhere good. They found Maggie and Glenn in front of a gun shop. "What are you guys doing here?" Glenn asked. "Well hello to you too..." Desiree said as she hopped out of the car.

"Maggie and I were going to do this on our own…" He said quietly. "But Rick told us to-" Daryl cut her off by putting his hand on her shoulder. "They don't want us there because they're gonna _do_ it…" He said, not trying to be discreet about it at all. "Oh," Desiree answered, laughing, "I guess we'll go look somewhere else then," She said with a wink. Glenn and Maggie looked very uncomfortable standing there.

"Have fun," She said with a wave, before turning around to Daryl. The couple ran inside and locked the door. "Let's try down this road…" He said, pointing down a side road off the main street. "You see that?" She asked pointing to of the buildings down the road. They jogged down the street until they came up to an opening on their right. "A motel!" Desiree exclaimed with a smile. "It would be nice to sleep on a bed for once." Daryl mumbled, walking up the long, crescent shaped driveway.

She made sure her pistol and knife were in place before aiming her crossbow at the door. "Ready?" He asked, and she nodded in return. They both quietly snuck into the main lobby. As Daryl looked into the gym and pool room, Desiree put a broom that she found in the janitor's closet into the handles of the stairwell door to make sure no stray biters could get through.

"Desiree!" Daryl whispered to her across the hall. She ran to the door and looked inside. Around 10 zombies were all shuffling around the restaurant. Daryl shot one, hitting in perfectly in the eye. "One," He said as he reloaded his crossbow. "What?" She asked as she shot another one. The remaining biters slowly began noticing them and stumbled their way to the pair.

"I'm keeping track of how many I can take down. Make sure I can still take down more than you." "A challenge," She said with a grin, "I like it." With that she shot one and stabbed another with her knife, throwing it onto a nearby table. "3," She said, grinning at Daryl.

Daryl smirked and took out his knife, throwing it at one that must have been the bell hop at the motel. "Quit showing off," She laughed, reloading her crossbow once again. They continued to shoot and stabb the zombies, and when they were all dead both counted 5 kills each. "I'll beat you next time," He said as he cleaned his knife with a napkin from one of the tables.

"Let's clear out the bedrooms. Then we can go get everybody and bring them over here," Desiree said grabbing a ring of keys from a drawer in the front desk. None of the rooms had biters, but there were a couple dead bodies. "Lucky bastards…" Daryl said as they dragged them out the back into the parking lot, "Probably had no idea what was going on." "Yah… Makes me wonder… is it better to be dead and peaceful or alive and suffering…" Desiree mumbled as she threw a lighter onto the pile of dead bodies.

They watched as they lit up in flames. They consumed the bodies and finally died down, leaving nothing but ash. "I'll go get the group if you just want to stay here…" Daryl said as they walked back into the motel. "Okay…" She said plopping down in one of the large, overstuffed couches that were positioned in the lobby. "Be right back," He said walking back out the front door.

She was actually pretty happy with the day so far, it was much more pleasant than most of the others recently. She sat there patiently waiting for the group to come. As she waited, her mind began to wander. First, she thought about the group in general. She pretty much fit right in now and it caused her to wonder if she chose the right path. That staying with the group was the right decision.

She then thought about Daryl. The way his blue eyes crinkled when he smiled that rare smile of his. That leather vest with the wings on it. His shaggy, disheveled brown hair. She couldn't stop thinking about him. She snapped out of it when she saw the cars coming up the driveway.

She went out to greet everyone and helped unload the cars. "Great find!" Lori said, as she got out of the car holding her now rather large belly. "Thanks," She said with a small smile. "Desiree, show everyone to their rooms, we'll get the rest of the supplies. She nodded obediently and helped the girls and Carl inside.

There were 6 rooms on the floor of the motel. 3 on each side of the hallway. Rick and Carl shared one. Carol and Lori shared another. Glenn and Maggie got their own room, even with the stares Hershel sent their way. Beth and Hershel got another; leaving T-Dogg, Daryl, and Desiree were left with the remaining two rooms.

"Well…" T-Dogg said clapping his hands together, "I haven't been able to have my own room since I left my apartment in Atlanta and would love some time alone." "Ummm... I guess…?" Desiree answered slowly.

"Awesome! Thank's Ya'll!" He said running into the room. Awkwardly, they headed to 'their' room. She could feel the stares boring into her back and when she turned around before walking into the room, she could have sworn she saw Carol and Lori wink at her. Blushing, she walked in and closed the door quickly behind her. She could just imagine the conversations people were having about them right then.

Not that she didn't mind the thought of the two of them… you know. But she wasn't sure where she stood with Daryl. She wasn't sure if he liked her back, or if he just saw her as a friend. She couldn't believe she was thinking like that! That kind of thought process was for a normal type of world, this was a whole other ball game. This was the kind of world where you acted first, and thought later. She tried to remember that as she turned to face him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

"God! An actual bed!" He said jumping onto it. Desiree laughed and walked over to the window. Though the sun had already set there was still enough light for her to notice that snow was beginning to fall onto the ground. "It's snowing," She told Daryl, as she watched little flurries of snowflakes dance in the air.

"That's gonna make travelling a whole lot harder," He said standing up. She could hear him walk up behind her. He was standing so close that she could feel the heat of his skin on her back. "Yah…" She said with a sigh, still looking out the window. "But I do have a couple ideas how to stay warm…" He whispered in her ear. This sent goose bumps down her neck. "Oh really?" She laughed, turning around. But before she could say anything else, Daryl's lips crashed into hers.

Though this took her by surprise but she didn't pull away. Instead, she wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen the kiss. Now Desiree had kissed other guys before all of this, but this one was different. Instead of that usual awkwardness and shyness that used to come with first kisses, this didn't have that. This kiss was so full of desire and passion that she couldn't even explain it.

She could feel him tugging on her jacket and she quickly pulled it off without breaking the kiss. They took a step towards the bed before falling on top of it. She smiled through the kiss and she helped him take off his shirt, revealing his hard, muscled chest. She gripped her hands in his hair has he unbuttoned her shirt. He quickly yanked it off and threw it across the room.

Next, he went for her jeans. He slowly took them off as he kissed her neck and chest, revealing her pink, lace underwear that matched her bra. She heard him moan as she kissed and bit his neck. He roughly grabbed her around the waist and pulled her underneath him. He threw the blanket on top of them and began unbuckling his belt.

She had never seen Daryl like this. So hungry, so desperate for her. Her body quivered in anticipation of what was coming but as soon as he unbuttoned his jeans, they heard a knock at the door. "Shit," He said pulling away from her, "Pretend you're asleep." She nodded and turned away from the door, covering everything but her head with the blanket. "One second," He heard him call as he, she assumed, put his shirt back on. She heard the door open and Daryl sigh quietly. "We were wondering if there were any extra blankets in here. Lori and Carol are looking for some." Said Dale.

"No, we don't. I already checked," He lied, sounding a bit irritated. "Where's Desiree?" He asked loudly. "She's already sleeping, worn out from the day," He lied again. "Oh, well you think you could come help us look for some. You know this place better than us." "Whatever…" Daryl muttered. She heard the door close and sat up. She let out a loud sigh and looked around the now empty room. She was so mad at Dale! Of course he would be the one to do something like that!

But she calmed herself down by thinking of what had just happened. She couldn't believe Daryl did that. All this time she thought it was just some silly crush, and he comes and does _that_? She fell back on her pillow and smiled to herself. She tried staying awake but Daryl was right, she was worn out from the day. She began nodding off as she waited and soon fell asleep.

But not long after, because she woke up to an arm wrapping around her waist. She knew it was Daryl by the sigh he let out. She scooted closer to him so that her back was pressed against his chest. "You fell asleep on me?" He whispered into her hair. She smiled and nodded. She felt his hand tracing up and down her leg and thigh, making her shiver. "Go back to sleep," He said as he kissed the side of her head. She nodded and fell back to sleep, feeling safe in his arms.


End file.
